Chapter 1741 : Sword Conquest of the Divine Abyss

Cultivators journey from mortality to immortality, enduring cultivation spanning millions upon hundreds of millions of years. Through year after year of tempering, their physical bodies undergo gradual metamorphosis until ultimately achieving qualitative transformation.

Celestial Bodies, Primordial True Forms, and even Innate Physiques had become virtually indestructible and eternal. In their later stages, they grew increasingly comparable to peerless Immortal Divine Iron in their imperishability.

This is precisely why low-level cultivators prefer refining immortal swords and ancient treasures, while high-level immortals favor weapons such as spears, halberds, dagger-axes, glaives, and maces.

The Chaos Heaven Halberd of Eldrin (Person Name), Chen Xianzhu's Immortal Iron Staff, Tai Cang Di Yang's Yin-Yang Immortal-Slaying Spear, Emperor Yang Jin Wu's Solar Divine Spear, and even the Innate Numinous Treasure of the Great God Qing Cang—all were supreme polearm-class treasures like the Qing Cang Heaven Halberd.

Not only was this treasure exceptionally easy to wield, but it also allowed 1 to unleash the full potential of their fleshly body sanctification power to its absolute limit. Moreover, it could be deployed as an immortal treasure to suppress even the most formidable foes.

Such weapons could only unleash their full might through the path of physical sanctification. For someone like Daoist Eldrin, who first cultivated Dao principles and broke through to the seventh layer of Celestial Immortality using innate Dao laws, his combat prowess had subtly diminished by nearly a third.

It was precisely for this reason that even though the Divine Abyss Ancient Sword and Divine Abyss Sword Art of the Divine Abyss Daoist possessed unparalleled lethality, they were still faintly suppressed by half a step when facing the Deity of Western Qi.

Even with the protection of the 10 1000 Abysses Ancient Cauldron (Magic Treasure), lacking the empowerment of a Great Perfection Immortal Body, it ultimately could not compare to the sheer dominance of a peerless physical form.

Of course, this was not absolute either, for the true potential of the Dao of Laws could only be unleashed when complemented by formidable divine abilities and ancient treasures.

If both had cultivated half-step Ruler-level divine abilities or possessed ancient innate treasures as their trump cards, the power unleashed by Daoist Shen Yuan through his mastery of innate Dao principles would undoubtedly far surpass that of the Western Qi Celestial Divinity.

To return to our story, with the Western Qi Heavenly God’s admission of defeat, the first round of the Sword Duel thus came to a close.

Chunxuzi gazed at Eldrin (Person Name), unable to contain his astonishment as he remarked, "The sword art you've pioneered, fellow daoist, rivals even the Supreme Void Sword Art in its formidable power."

"It seems that among the 10 Great Sword Dao Divine Abilities of the Qingcang Immortal Realm, another supreme sword art has emerged to claim a place within the top 3."

Eldrin shook his head and said modestly, "The Taixu Sword Art encompasses all things, containing as many as 9 sword dao divine abilities. My Taiyi Xuhuan Sword Qi still falls far short."

Chunxuzi nodded. To his knowledge, the Taixu Sword Art comprised 9 forms in total. The first 3 forms were classified as Orthodox-level divine abilities, the middle 3 as Sect Leader-level divine abilities, and the final 3 even reached the Half-Step Sect Leader level.

Relying on these 9 forms of the Taixu Sword Art, the Taixu Sword Lord was able to dominate the Qingcang Immortal Domain for tens of millions of years without match, hailed as the foremost in offensive power beneath the Ancient Immortals.

Eldrin (Person Name) sighed inwardly, "Though the power of this Ethereal Cosmos Sword Qi is not inferior to the Great Void Sword Art, it ultimately cannot compare to the complete lineage and coherence of the Great Void Sword Art."

"Only 1 final sword incantation remains to fully integrate my sword dao and unleash the ultimate power of this divine ability."

Eldrin murmured inwardly, vaguely aware that having just broken through to the Celestial Immortal realm, there were still many aspects requiring refinement.

The path of the sword has always been peerless in slaughter, its lethality nearly unrivaled among those of the same realm. Even Eldrin had no choice but to treat it with grave seriousness.

With this thought, Eldrin withdrew his focus.

Pure Void Master nodded and said, "In that case, let us commence the second round."

Everyone nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Eldrin gave a slight nod to the assembly before turning his gaze toward the 4 individuals: Lyra, Qing Ji, Seraphina Qu, and Chen Ethan.

These 4 were all prodigies who had stepped into the forbidden realm. Qing Ji and Seraphina Qu (Person Name) both possessed combat prowess at the Mid Celestial Immortal stage. Although Chen Ethan (Person Name) fell slightly short by half a step, his strength still rivaled that of an ordinary Third Heaven Flawless Celestial Immortal.

Lyra was even more unfathomable, having opened 20-1 celestial layers, making her second only to Eldrin within the family.

The 2 opposing grotto-heavens ultimately dispatched their most powerful experts upon witnessing this: Patriarch Goldenflame and Celestial Vastsea.

In such a duel of swords, the strategy of "Tian Ji's horse racing" would be utterly meaningless. If the opposing side reserved their strongest combatants—the Golden Flame Ancestor and the Vast Sea Celestial—for the final round, the Abyssal Return Immortal Alliance could simply replace their own participants before the battle commenced.

Golden Flame Ancestor stepped to the forefront, his gaze sweeping across the assembly before he spoke with unshakable composure:

"Let us witness how this generation of heavenly talents shall fare in the Dao Tribulation."

The Vastsea Celestial God also descended, divine spear in hand, and pointed it at the 4 figures. "Come, let us battle!"

"Let us begin."

As Purevoid Elder spoke, the second sword duel commenced in an instant.

The great battle erupted into a white-hot frenzy from the very first moment. It had to be admitted that Patriarch Golden Flame and Heaven-Sovereign Vastsea were truly formidable.

As a Flawless Celestial Immortal, Golden Flame Patriarch was the most dazzling figure during a certain Heavenly Tribulation in the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea 1 100 million years ago. After breaking through to the Celestial Immortal realm, he was recruited by Divine Abyss Patriarch and became the Second Supreme Elder of the Divine Abyss Cave Heaven.

Now, after nearly 1 100 million years had passed, Golden Flame Ancestor’s cultivation had reached the Sixth Heaven of the Celestial Immortal realm. With his flawless Celestial Immortal foundation, his combat prowess ranked among the very finest across the entire Vast Azure Immortal Domain.

If not for the great bottleneck at the late-stage Celestial Immortal realm being exceptionally difficult to break through, and the Primordial Qi being far too precious, the Golden Flame Ancestor would have long since cultivated to the seventh level of the Celestial Immortal realm.

To break through to the late-stage Celestial Immortal realm, 1 must not only possess sufficient Primordial Qi but also require the assistance of special resources.

For instance, to cultivate the Great Perfection Immortal Physique, 1 requires the 9 Revolutions Immortal Elixir to break through the ultimate barriers of the true immortal form.

However, the 9 Revolutions Immortal Elixir was far too precious, requiring the entire flesh and blood of a ninth-rank, top-grade Primal Chaos Ancient Beast to refine just a single pill.

And a Chaos Ancient Beast of the ninth-rank superior grade would require at least a dozen Celestial Immortals at the Great Perfection stage joining forces to have a reasonable chance of slaying it.

To slay a Chaos Ancient Beast of the ninth rank, superior grade, even if several late-stage Celestial Immortals joined forces, they would have to risk their lives to possibly succeed—and more likely than not, the beast would escape after being severely wounded.

Moreover, there are significant bottlenecks in cultivating the innate Dao principles and Dao fruits to the Great Perfection stage, and breakthroughs require similar treasures.

Without taking risks, relying solely on 1's innate talent and potential, breaking through the bottleneck would require at least 1 100 million years of arduous cultivation, with the added possibility of failure in the attempt.

Golden Flame Patriarch was once a prodigy with 3 Primordial Immortal foundations. Yet, though he had broken through to the sixth level of the Celestial Immortal realm tens of millions of years ago, he had not even approached the threshold of the late Celestial Immortal stage to this day.

The Vastsea Celestial God was slightly inferior by half a measure. As a flawless Celestial Immortal at the fifth level of the Celestial Immortal realm, he had attained the Dao for merely 50,000,000 years, yet his methods were utterly astonishing.

Such a flawless Celestial Immortal could not be overthrown by someone at the early Celestial Immortal stage—not even an Imperial Scion who had stepped into the 10 Calamities forbidden domain.

Golden Flame Patriarch was brimming with confidence. He believed that even if Lyra and the others had all stepped into the forbidden domain, joining forces with his companion would make their victory unquestionable.

But once the battle began, they were utterly astonished, for Lyra alone was able to hold her ground against Patriarch Goldenflame without showing the slightest disadvantage.

The other 3 joined forces against the Oceanic Heaven God, not only holding their ground but overwhelming him in battle.

"How is this possible!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 1 The Azure Cloud Sect's recruitment ceremony had just concluded. On the vast testing square, a young man in blue robes stood silently, his fingers tracing the jade token in his palm—the symbol of an outer sect disciple. "Lin Ming (Person Name)," an elder's voice echoed, "Earth-grade spiritual roots, at the Foundation Establishment 3rd-layer. You qualify as a caretaker disciple." A few sneers came from the crowd. "A mere Earth-grade spiritual root, yet he dares to dream of inner sect membership?" Lin Ming's gaze remained calm. In his dantian, a wisp of azure light shimmered—the legacy of the 9 Revolutions Mystic Art (Cultivation Method) he had obtained by chance in the forbidden area. Suddenly, a system notification appeared before his eyes: [Ding! Detected host has awakened the "Omnipotent Cultivation System (System Name)." Auto-binding...] [Binding complete. Beginner's gift package granted: 1,000 spirit stones, 1 9-Cycle Spirit Pill (Elixir)] His heart stirred, but his expression remained unchanged. In this cultivation world where the strong preyed on the weak, this might be his chance to rise above mediocrity. --- Chapter 5 The Howling Wind Mountain Range was shrouded in perpetual mist. Lin Ming leaped between cliffs, the Frostfall Sword (Magic Treasure) in his hand leaving trails of cold light. "Roar!" A Twin-Horned Fire Python (Monster Beast) burst from the cave, its scales glowing like molten iron. The stench of blood filled the air. Lin Ming's eyes sharpened. He formed hand seals, the spiritual energy around him churning violently. "9 Revolutions Mystic Art—First Revolution, Stars Fall!" Countless sword beams converged into a river of stars. The python hissed in fury, spewing crimson flames that scorched the surrounding rocks into molten slurry. [Host has slain a Foundation Establishment 6th-layer demon beast. Reward: 5,000 cultivation points, 1 Dragon Tendon Pill (Elixir)] Wiping the blood from his lips, Lin Ming retrieved the demon core. Suddenly, a sharp whistle came from afar—a jade slip transmission from the sect. "All disciples, return immediately. The Secret Realm of Falling Stars (Secret Realm) is about to open!" --- Chapter 12 The Secret Realm of Falling Stars hovered mid-air, its entrance a swirling vortex of light. Dozens of sect elders stood guard around the formation, their auras profound and imposing. Elder Xu (Person Name) declared solemnly, "The secret realm will remain open for 30 days. Those who obtain the Stellar Core (Heavenly Material) will be rewarded with 100,000 spirit stones and a high-grade magic treasure!" Lin Ming adjusted the Shadow-Cloak (Magic Treasure) around his shoulders. Just as he was about to step into the vortex, a sinister voice sounded behind him. "Junior Brother Lin, the secret realm is fraught with danger... I do hope you can make it out alive." The speaker was Liu Feng (Person Name), an inner sect disciple at the Foundation Establishment 9th-layer. His gaze carried undisguised killing intent. Lin Ming smiled faintly. "Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother." As his figure vanished into the light, a cold gleam flashed deep within his eyes. In his spatial ring lay 3 newly-refined Inferno Talismans (Talisman) and a jade slip recording the complete "Grand Solar Sword Art (Cultivation Method)." The game had just begun.